Qantas cabin crew win big pay rises to work on 20 hour-plus Project Sunrise flights

CEO Vanessa Hudson says a deal with flight attendants to crew 20 hour-plus Project Sunrise flights will put pressure on fares.

Qantas flight attendants have reached an agreement with the airline to crew its 20 hour-plus Project Sunrise services, in a deal that could force up airfares.

The agreement will provide new conditions and up to 30 per cent pay increases to work on specially configured A350-1000s due for delivery in 2026.

Airbus has added an extra fuel tank to the aircraft to operate non-stop flights from Sydney or Melbourne to New York and London, which will require crew to be on duty for up to 26 hours.

Among the provisions agreed to by Qantas, are 60 hours of planned rest for crew following a 20 hour-plus flight, improved rest breaks during the service, and the ability to cap the number of ultra-long-range flights to just one in a roster period.

There was also an average pay increase of 30 per cent across all classifications in the enterprise agreement.

The deal ends months of discussions between Qantas and the Flight Attendants Association of Australia.

FAAA federal secretary Teri O’Toole said the negotiations were a “far cry from the Qantas of just a couple of years ago”.

“The agreement strikes the right balance between getting cabin crew a much-needed pay rise and securing future work for Australian crew and providing the business certainty in the competitive international marketplace,” said Ms O’Toole.

Crew will vote on the variation to their enterprise agreement before the end of October, with pay increases to take effect from November 1.

“Thanks to this in-principle agreement, for the first time in many years, cabin crew will not be forced to trade off hard-won conditions to gain a pay rise, and Qantas profits will flow through to cabin crew in the form of increased pay and improved working conditions,” Ms O’Toole said.

Qantas has agreed to “same job, same pay” provisions for cabin crew employed through labour hire companies, after the FAAA took action in the Fair Work Commission.

It is estimated the changes to the long haul agreement and the same job, same pay provisions will cost Qantas about $60m in the 2025 financial year, and chief executive Vanessa Hudson said that would put pressure on ­airfares. 

“Costs up and no productivity offset does erode our competitive position, so we also say that despite the fact we’re pleased with the result, we are going to have to find ways to offset that. In the short term, pressure on fares remains,” she said.

“There are 55 carriers we compete with internationally and our cabin crew cost base will now be triple that of our competitors. That actually does create a disadvantage for us in competing in that market and we are going to have to find ways to offset that and mitigate that.”

Speaking at the airline’s annual results announcement in Sydney, chief financial officer Rob Marcolina said Qantas had set aside $70m for the payment of a fine and compensation arising from the illegal outsourcing ­decision.

In 2022, the Federal Court found Qantas acted unlawfully when it outsourced the jobs of 1683 ground-handling employees at the height of the pandemic, in a ruling upheld by the High Court.

Justice Michael Lee is yet to deliver his final judgment on penalties and compensation, but Mr Marcolina said $70m was their best estimate.

“We’ve gone back, we’ve looked at comparable cases, we’ve also looked at the compensation hearing we had with Justice Lee in March,” said Mr Marcolina.

“We think it’s appropriate at this point in time.”

The Transport Workers Union which brought the lawsuit against Qantas said it had been 350 days since the High Court ruling, and workers were still waiting for compensation.

“Qantas could have settled this months ago, but has chosen not to – instead arguing in court that illegally sacked workers should not receive a dollar,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.